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<p>Asalamu alaykum wa Rahmatullah inshallah, I know we have several
international members especially from Africa and i enjoyed one of
the articles about the country in West Africa, Liberia. I know not
all west African nations are the same but,</p>
<p> the NFB is trying to make changes all threw out the world. They
have several nations inAfrica that hoast an NFB chapter. It only
takes one person to be the change in their community. <br>
</p>
<p>salaam wa-nor sister Heather <br>
</p>
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<td>[Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, October 2023</td>
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<div id="header">
<h1 class="title">The Braille Monitor,
October 2023</h1>
</div>
<h1 id="braille-monitor">BRAILLE MONITOR</h1>
<p>Vol.
66, No. 9 October 2023</p>
<p><em>Gary Wunder, Editor</em></p>
<p>Distributed by
email, in inkprint, in Braille, and on USB flash drive, by the</p>
<p>NATIONAL
FEDERATION OF THE BLIND</p>
<p>Mark Riccobono, President</p>
<p>telephone:
410-659-9314</p>
<p>email address: <a href="mailto:nfb@nfb.org"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">nfb@nfb.org</a></p>
<p>website address: <a href="http://www.nfb.org"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">http://www.nfb.org</a></p>
<p>NFBnet.org: <a href="http://www.nfbnet.org"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">http://www.nfbnet.org</a></p>
<p>NFB-NEWSLINE® information: 866-504-7300</p>
<p>Like us on Facebook: <a
href="http://Facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind"
moz-do-not-send="true">Facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind</a></p>
<p>Follow us on Twitter: @NFB_Voice</p>
<p>Watch and share our videos: <a
href="http://YouTube.com/NationsBlind" moz-do-not-send="true">YouTube.com/NationsBlind</a></p>
<p>Letters
to the President, address changes, subscription requests, and
orders for NFB
literature should be sent to the national office. Articles for
the <em>Monitor</em>
and letters to the editor may also be sent to the national
office or may be emailed
to <a href="mailto:gwunder@nfb.org" moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">gwunder@nfb.org</a>.</p>
<p><em>Monitor</em>
subscriptions cost the Federation about forty dollars per year.
Members are invited,
and nonmembers are requested, to cover the subscription cost.
Donations should be
made payable to <strong>National Federation of the Blind</strong>
and sent to:</p>
<p>National Federation of the Blind</p>
<p>200 East Wells Street <em>at Jernigan
Place</em><br>
Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998</p>
<p><strong>THE NATIONAL
FEDERATION OF THE BLIND KNOWS THAT BLINDNESS IS NOT THE
CHARACTERISTIC THAT DEFINES
YOU OR YOUR FUTURE. EVERY DAY WE RAISE THE EXPECTATIONS OF
BLIND PEOPLE, BECAUSE
LOW EXPECTATIONS CREATE OBSTACLES BETWEEN BLIND PEOPLE AND OUR
DREAMS. YOU CAN
LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT; BLINDNESS IS NOT WHAT HOLDS YOU BACK.
THE NATIONAL FEDERATION
OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND—IT
IS THE BLIND
SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES.</strong></p>
<p><em>ISSN 0006-8829</em></p>
<p>© 2023
by the National Federation of the Blind</p>
<p>Each issue is recorded on a thumb
drive (also called a memory stick or USB flash drive). You can
read this audio
edition using a computer or a National Library Service digital
player. The NLS
machine has two slots—the familiar book-cartridge slot just
above the
retractable carrying handle and a second slot located on the
right side near the
headphone jack. This smaller slot is used to play thumb drives.
Remove the protective
rubber pad covering this slot and insert the thumb drive. It
will insert only in
one position. If you encounter resistance, flip the drive over
and try again.
(Note: If the cartridge slot is not empty when you insert the
thumb drive, the
digital player will ignore the thumb drive.) Once the thumb
drive is inserted,
the player buttons will function as usual for reading digital
materials. If you
remove the thumb drive to use the player for cartridges, when
you insert it again,
reading should resume at the point you stopped.</p>
<p>You can transfer the
recording of each issue from the thumb drive to your computer or
preserve it on
the thumb drive. However, because thumb drives can be used
hundreds of times, we
would appreciate their return in order to stretch our funding.
Please use the
return envelope enclosed with the drive when you return the
device.</p>
<p>Vol.
66, No. 9 October 2023</p>
<h2 id="contents"> Contents</h2>
<p>Illustration:
Celebrating our Work throughout the Movement</p>
<p>Together Living Blindfully:
Perspectives on the Wisdom of the Shared Blind Community</p>
<p>by Jonathan
Mosen</p>
<p>Blindness, Hope, and Belief from Liberia to Littleton and Back</p>
<p>by Dan Burke</p>
<p>Idaho’s Blind Share Our Stories on YouTube</p>
<p>by
Ramona Walhof</p>
<p>Yes, Virginia, Chapters Can Pass Resolutions</p>
<p>by Daniel
Garcia</p>
<p>Guillory Presented the National Educator of Blind Children
Award</p>
<p>by Cathi Cox-Boniol</p>
<p>Gary Van Dorn, “Go to Guy” at NFBCO,
wins Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award</p>
<p>by Cindy Piggott</p>
<p>Reflecting
on the Ten-Year Anniversary of the Marrakesh Treaty</p>
<p>by Marc Maurer</p>
<p>We Should All Live Ambitiously</p>
<p>by John G. Paré</p>
<p>Aiming Big
to Achieve Our Objectives</p>
<p>by Jeff Kaloc</p>
<p>Progress on Medical Access
and Equal Wages</p>
<p>by Justin Young</p>
<p>My Journey of Discovery, Risk, and
Reward</p>
<p>by Jesse Shirek</p>
<p>Save the Date: 2024 Washington Seminar</p>
<p>by Kyle Walls</p>
<p><em>Monitor</em> Miniatures</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Mark
Riccobono gives the September Presidential Release at a Chicago
restaurant with
many NFB members in attendance.</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: NFB members clap and cheer
for Dan O’Rourke’s completion of the Ride for Literacy.</p>
<p>[PHOTO
CAPTION: Mark Riccobono addresses the crowd at the Ride for
Literacy finale at
the Chicago Public Library.</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Dan O’Rourke speaks to
the members at the Ride for Literacy finale.</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Mark Riccobono
and Dan O’Rourke pose with Chicago Chapter Ride for Literacy
Committee,
Michelle Ault, Patti Chang, Dustin Cather, Marilyn Green, and
Denise Avant.</p>
<h2 id="celebrating-our-work-throughout-the-movement">Celebrating
our Work throughout
the Movement</h2>
<p>On September 8, 2023, the last of several “pit stop
parties” along Dan O’Rourke’s Route 66 Ride for Literacy took
place in Chicago, the city where the historic highway he had
just traversed reaches
its end. A preview of the celebration took place the night
before as President
Riccobono broadcast the <em>Presidential Release Live</em> from
the Exchequer Pub
in downtown Chicago, and the pictures here come from that event.
In addition to
celebrating Dan’s accomplishment, the release highlighted the
work of the
Chicago Chapter through presentations by Chapter President
Denise Avant and Debbie
Kent Stein, who spoke of both the chapter’s history and its
current
initiatives. You can access their remarks and the rest of the <em>Presidential
Release Live</em> at <a
href="https://nfb.org/presidential-releases"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://nfb.org/presidential-releases</a>.
The event was a fitting culmination of Dan’s journey, which had
featured
visits with several other chapters and affiliates along the way,
and an opportunity
to once again highlight the work that takes place in communities
across the nation
every day in order to amplify the impact of the organized blind
movement. Similarly,
this issue of the <em>Braille Monitor</em> contains several
articles that highlight
efforts by chapters, affiliates, and individuals to advance our
goals and spread
our message. October is Blind Equality Achievement Month, when
chapters focus
specifically on community events to celebrate achievement and
advance equality.
We hope these articles serve as revealing snapshots of the
inspiring, innovative,
and powerful accomplishments that occur throughout the
Federation every day and
the unsung heroes that make them possible.</p>
<p>-------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION:
Jonathan Mosen]</p>
<h2
id="together-living-blindfully-perspectives-on-the-wisdom-of-the-shared-blind-community">Together
Living Blindfully: Perspectives on the Wisdom of the Shared
Blind Community</h2>
<p><strong>by Jonathan Mosen</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: The National
Convention agenda listed Jonathan Mosen as “CEO, Workbridge,
and Producer
and Presenter, <em>Living Blindfully</em>; Wellington, New
Zealand.” While
accurate, the notation does not begin to describe all that
Jonathan Mosen does or
all the ways in which he has informed, inspired, and
influenced the global blind
community. It is no exaggeration to say that he is a world
thought leader in our
movement. Nor is his advocacy any less fierce and forthright
for being delivered
with grace and good humor. With his characteristic humility,
Jonathan acknowledges
that he might not be the advocate he is today without his
early contact via computer
bulletin boards, that were not even yet known collectively as
the internet, with
Federation philosophy as expressed in the writings of Dr.
Jacobus tenBroek and
Dr. Kenneth Jernigan. The thoughts that he shared with the
convention on the
morning of July 6 show that he absorbed that content, built
upon what he learned,
and has now taken his place as a critical voice providing wise
direction for the
work that still needs to be done so that “living blindfully”
is also
living with equality. Here are his remarks:</strong></p>
<p>Thank you, Mr. President,
for the introduction and for the invitation to speak today, and
good morning to
my friends in the Federation.</p>
<p>I am delighted to be at another NFB convention.
When I attend one, I always feel replenished, ready to make more
positive change,
and prouder than ever to be blind. [Applause]</p>
<p>Among the many things
I’ve done in my life, I have a background in radio. After all
these years
of hosting shows about blindness current events, technology,
providing entertainment
to our community, and raising money for an important cause or
two, I still believe
in the power of the internet to do good, to be a vehicle for
sharing knowledge,
to have a place that’s uniquely ours where we’re not trying to
explain blindness to sighted people; we are exclusively,
unashamedly talking about
the things that matter to us.</p>
<p>My current podcast, <em>Living Blindfully</em>,
brings blind people together from, at last count, 113 countries.
[Light applause]
<em>Living Blindfully</em> discusses a wide range of topics
including policy,
philosophy, employment, parenting, and more. We also talk a lot
about technology
because it can assist with equal participation in society. It’s
technology
I’d like to focus on today.</p>
<p>I do so mindful of the enormous
responsibility this organization bears. The companies that
develop the major
operating systems and much of the hardware we use are based here
in the United
States. So blind people everywhere are counting on you to be
articulate, focused,
and resolute, advocating in a way that honors your proud
traditions. Any success
you have in bringing about more accessible technology has a
direct positive benefit
to many millions of blind people beyond your borders.</p>
<p>In an age where
technology plays a critical role in all aspects of society, the
Federation has
been relentless in its advocacy for accessible technology as
part of its pursuit
of security, equality, and opportunity. To assess the
effectiveness of that
advocacy, we only need to reflect on how much more information
we have access to
in 2023 versus, say, 1983. Computerization in general, and the
internet in
particular, mean it is easier for everyone to work, shop, bank,
travel, communicate,
be informed, and entertained. The increasing digitization of
society was inevitable
because of technological change. But the social change required
for the blind to
be included was not. Accessibility didn’t magically appear out
of the
goodness of people’s hearts. It happened because people in this
room,
alongside many pioneers in advocacy and technology who are no
longer with us, and
who we remember with appreciation and respect, put in the effort
and made it
happen. [Applause] </p>
<p>Achieving the degree of accessibility we enjoy today
required the use of a range of advocacy tools, including
building strong relationships,
being thought leaders, and, when it was absolutely necessary,
legislative and
legal action. It was true then, and it is still true today, that
even some blind
people decry the advocacy necessary to win those battles using
terms like militant,
radical, whining, and entitled.</p>
<p>Now, in January I became a grandfather for
the first time. [Cheers] Thank you for that. My little
granddaughter, Florence,
is adorable. One of the many cool things about being a granddad
is that I’m
reading kids’ books again. (Just wait until Christmas when I hit
the toy
stores!) So, the story of the little red hen has been on my mind
lately. For those
who don’t know it, spoiler alert, the short version is that the
little red
hen tried to get help to plant the seeds, harvest the wheat, and
bake the bread,
but the other farm animals couldn’t be bothered. Oh but when the
bread was
ready, they happily volunteered to eat it. Isn’t it ironic that
those who
malign us as militant, who denigrate the doers, who ridicule us
as radical, who
attack the advocates, who berate the bakers of the bread, are
publishing that
criticism using the very tools that wouldn’t have been
accessible were it
not for the advocates they’re criticizing. [Applause] To those
critics, I
say the proof of the baked bread is in the eating, and you can
eat it even if you
didn’t bake it. To my friends in the Federation, you are the
ones who make
a difference, so wear the badge with honor, and take pride in
being little NFB
hens.</p>
<p>We have baked a lot of bread, but the work is far from done. If
the
bread does not continue to be baked, we will starve.</p>
<p>And I wish today to
suggest some of the bread we must bake next. The provision of
assistive technology
by mainstream companies has created new advocacy challenges just
as important as
the battles we have won. I don’t begrudge for a moment the
accolades these
companies receive for their accessibility initiatives. I applaud
the fact that we
can now walk up to most computers and smartphones and have
immediate access to
them. We have life-changing tools, some of them
blindness-specific, in the palm
of our hand for a fraction of what they used to cost. That is
staggering progress.
But there’s a little secret that tends not to be covered in the
media.
While impressive innovation continues at pace, the quality and
reliability of some
of the tools we use remains a serious concern, as resolutions at
several NFB
conventions have recorded. I’ve worked in the technology
industry, and I
know that software cannot be bug-free. But today we are enduring
show-stopping
bugs unique to the blind that significantly degrade our ability
to use some of
these devices. In my own advocacy efforts, I have found it
useful to apply a
concept of equivalency. In other words, what would be an
equivalent bug for the
sighted, and would it be such a show-stopping bug that the
sighted would demand
a speedy resolution? I’ll give you a few examples. I am not
going to call
out any company by name, but if these examples are affecting
you, you’ll
know the companies to which I’m referring.</p>
<p>If your screen reader
suddenly and regularly stops speaking, that would be the same as
a sighted
person’s screen flickering and then completely blanking out at
random
intervals. Do you think the sighted would patiently wait for
months until their
screen worked properly again? [Shouts of “No!” from the
audience]
The media would be all over this, and would be calling it
“screengate.”</p>
<p>If you’re typing on your smartphone using Braille Screen Input
and
you’re regularly experiencing unexpected behavior that slows you
down or
results in you typing gibberish, then that would be the
equivalent of the virtual
keyboard being next to useless for a sighted person, causing
them to understandably
protest loudly about them not being able to do their job,
communicate, input data,
and close the deal.</p>
<p>If you are blind and wear hearing aids, and your screen
reader is quiet to the point of being unusable when you’re on a
phone call,
this would be the same as a sighted person having their screen
so dim every time
they make a call that they can’t see it well enough to use it.</p>
<p>If
you, in good faith, install the beta of an operating system only
to find that your
screen reader doesn’t work at all, that would be equivalent to a
sighted
person installing a beta, understanding that there may be
defects, but finding
with horror that their screen was blank, making their device
completely useless.
And imagine what would happen to the reputation of that company
if it was later
revealed that the team responsible released that software
knowing full well that
this is what it would do.</p>
<p>If you scrimp and save to buy a popular Braille
display, only to find you can’t connect your smartphone to it
via Bluetooth
because a protocol about which there was an industry-wide
consensus, and that the
company promised to support, hasn’t been implemented, this is
the equivalent
of a sighted person buying one of the leading printers on the
market today, only
to find that the operating system developer hasn’t kept their
promise to
support it.</p>
<p>I could fill the remainder of my time with examples. If bugs
like these were happening to sighted people, it would be
headline news. Stock
prices would plummet. Senior leaders would be filled with their
email boxes
overflowing, and eventually fired to give the public
accountability.</p>
<p>The
eaters who are not the bakers will say that we must be realistic
and patient. We
shouldn’t expect prompt resolution to blindness-specific
show-stopping
issues. They say assistive technology isn’t the core business of
these
mainstream companies, so things are bound to be a bit rough
around the edges. We
must be grateful, and thankful, or they might take it all away.
We are a tiny
fraction of their customers, so we must wait our turn. Well, the
bakers know,
because they baked it, that there is no legislation covering
consumer rights,
civil rights, accessibility, or government procurement that says
it’s OK
for companies to provide an inferior product to blind people.
[Applause] But
I’ve found plenty of law that gives this sort of behavior a
name. They call
it discrimination. [Cheers of agreement] The National Federation
of the Blind has
always been clear. Discrimination will not stand. [Applause]</p>
<p>A poorer
standard of product for the blind is not merely a legal issue,
it is a moral one.
It is also a financial one. These large, successful companies
undoubtedly have
the means to resource accessibility properly. But when they
prepare their annual
budgets, they are allocating resources in a way that
short-changes you and me.
[Shout of “That’s right! from the audience]</p>
<p>I’d like
to address these manufacturers directly. You have made a
remarkable difference to
our lives. Working with us, you have helped to ensure that there
has never been
a better time in history to be blind. Thank you for all you have
done and all you
continue to do. But we are not charity cases. [Applause] Were
you not doing what
you are doing, you would lose the business of many entities who
would no longer
be permitted to buy your products. So, the relationship is a
reciprocal one.</p>
<p>Our money is as good as anyone else’s. [Applause] We express
our thanks
like any other customer, by helping to return a profit to your
shareholders when
we buy what you’re selling. When we do this, we create a
contract that you
will provide us with a product that is fit for purpose. We then
integrate your
technology into our lives, and we come to rely on it. These
products should not
have such egregious accessibility defects that a blind person
requires two degrees
in order to operate them: one in computer science so we can work
around all the
bugs, and the other in Zen meditation.</p>
<p>For those of us fortunate enough to
have found work, our jobs were usually hard won. We got them
knowing full well
the fundamental truth upon which the National Federation of the
Blind was founded:
that the problem of blindness is not the lack of eyesight, the
problem is what
people think blindness means. [Applause] If we, competent blind
people on the job,
cannot do our jobs as well as we’re capable of because of
serious defects
in your products you decline to fix in a timely manner, you are
perpetuating myths
about blindness by making us appear foolish in front of our
employers. You are
jeopardizing the security of our livelihoods. If there is bias
in your defect
assessment processes causing our mission-critical bugs to
languish because they
only affect a small number of people, you are preventing our
equality by implying
through your inaction that we are second-class customers. If
your products are
not dependable, you tantalize us with the promise of
opportunity, but it is a
promise that is not fully kept. This must stop! [Applause]</p>
<p>I want to propose
the following four-point plan to ensure these products become as
dependable for
us as they are for everyone else.</p>
<p>First, in consultation with the organized
blind movement, all mainstream technology companies offering
assistive technology
should agree on, and publish, a framework that seeks to define a
line where an
accessibility bug is so critical that it requires extraordinary
remedial action
beyond the normal software release cycle. As a working title,
let’s call
this the defect equity framework, or DEF for short.</p>
<p>Second, with the DEF
in place, mainstream technology companies should collaborate
with the organized
blind movement to resolve the under-resourcing that is
contributing to this
situation. This must include hiring more blind people.
[Applause] We use it; we
are the best people to test it and fix it.</p>
<p>I want to take a moment to
express my profound admiration and gratitude for all the blind
people working in
any capacity on the technology we use every day. They can’t ever
completely
switch off, because when it’s time to stop thinking about work
for the day,
they are still blind. Sometimes, they’ll be fighting battles on
the inside
we can never know about. It can be tough work, but it’s vital
work. So,
let’s be kind to our own who are doing this work. [Applause] We
need them
there, and we need many more of us there.</p>
<p>Third, each company should
establish a public database for accessibility defects, so the
blind can check what
bugs have already been submitted and what priority they have
been accorded. We
must have input into that prioritization. Right now, too many of
us feel despondent
and frustrated about volunteering our time and expertise to
these companies, filing
detailed bug report after detailed bug report, only to be
ignored and fobbed off
with a canned response and no progress updates.</p>
<p>And fourth, every Global
Accessibility Awareness Day, mainstream technology companies
must do more than
just publish marketing hype about new initiatives. They must
provide a transparent,
independently audited report that demonstrates progress as
measured against the
defect equity framework.</p>
<p>Second-class status is something we stopped
accepting long ago. This proposal is a constructive, specific,
better way. Let
the blind and the technology industry work together and get this
done. But if they
will not work with us, we should not continue to accept the
status quo. As Dr.
Jernigan repeatedly put it, we know how to join together on the
barricades.</p>
<p>Inadequate quality control is not the only advocacy challenge
we face. Sometimes,
a mainstream company can kill our productivity with kindness.
It’s often
said that activity should not be confused with achievement. I
would also submit
that accessibility should not be confused with usability. If
we’re not
consulted, well-intentioned sighted people may cause an app or
operating system
to be so verbose—and frankly, so patronizing—that it slows us
down
and adds no value whatsoever. Blind people must be involved in
all aspects of the
user experience.</p>
<p>And finally, as we’ve always done, we must be
vigilant about talented people who, out of a genuine desire to
make a difference,
use their talent to create something they assume blind people
need. As Dr. tenBroek
so brilliantly put it all those years ago, my road to hell is
paved with your good
intentions. This behavior is a high-tech form of colonization.
It is also the
high-tech equivalent of that person on the street who genuinely
wants to be helpful,
but without permission or knowledge of our destination grabs us
and assumes that
we need help and that they know where we are going. Knowing the
needs of the market
you seek to serve is Business 101.</p>
<p>The ideas I’ve shared with you
today are a mere snapshot of the important discussions that
we’ve had on
<em>Living Blindfully</em>. I hope that you will be a part of
this vibrant,
stimulating global conversation, as well as continuing to do the
work so many of
us around the world rely on you to do at the chapter, affiliate,
national, and
international levels through the National Federation of the
Blind. Let us all
continue to bake the bread of progress, never forgetting for a
moment that we are
worthy, together, living blindfully. Thank you so much.</p>
<p>----------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: At the end of their two weeks with us, our
Liberian guests each
spoke to the assembled staff and students about their experience
at CCB and what
they will take back to their blind students. They also received
certificates from
Julie. Left to right are Nokutula Ncube, Julie Deden, Noah Z.
Gibson, Maureen
Nietfeld, Suahibu Paasewe, Miatta Kollie, and Dan Burke.</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION:
Noah Z. took advantage of our computer lab while his colleagues
learned Braille.
He completed over half of the 40 typing lessons in two weeks.</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION:
Our guests were diligent learners, but especially in their
Braille class. Suahibu
and Miatta examine a Braille page on a Perkins Brailler.</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION:
There are few if any sidewalks, especially in Liberian villages,
let alone paved
roads. ITP student Noah B. walks with Miatta on the bike path
near the Center,
just for the experience of something other than concrete and
asphalt.</p>
<h2
id="blindness-hope-and-belief-from-liberia-to-littleton-and-back">Blindness,
Hope,
and Belief from Liberia to Littleton and Back</h2>
<p><strong>by Dan Burke</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: This article originally appeared on
the official blog
of the Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB) at <a
href="https://cocenter.org/blindness-hope-and-belief-from-liberia-to-littleton-and-back/"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://cocenter.org/blindness-hope-and-belief-from-liberia-to-littleton-and-back/</a>.
It is an account of how a visit from an Uber driver with a
willing spirit but a
lack of expertise on blindness led to a collaboration that is
helping to bring
hope and opportunity to a part of the world where those
priceless things are not
always available, especially not to the blind. Here is how Dan
Burke tells the
story:</strong></p>
<p>Late in the summer of 2022, an Uber driver named Ebenezer
Norman dropped into the Center and asked to speak to Executive
Director Julie
Deden. Norman, as he prefers to be called, unfolded the
incredible and inspiring
story of his efforts to raise money to build a school in
Liberia, his country of
origin. Liberia is a small country on the west coast of Africa
which was originally
founded by former slaves from the United States. Norman, who was
fortunate enough
to come to the US and attend Regis University, knows that good
education is the
future for children in Liberia and for the country as a whole.</p>
<p>Following
many tribulations, including tragic losses which required that
the school be
rebuilt twice, his school, A New Dimension of Hope, is now
teaching seven hundred
to eight hundred Liberian children. You can visit the school on
the web at <a href="https://www.ndhope.org/"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.ndhope.org/</a>
and view a video of
Norman’s story and the tribulations of getting his school up and
running
at <a
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=LVeCG7_EhrM"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=LVeCG7_EhrM</a>.</p>
<p>Norman raises funds for his school. He has excellent
administrators and educators,
textbooks, a computer lab—all the things to build and maintain
an outstanding
education for all those children. But there was another,
unexpected problem that
troubled Norman and school officials. Blind children wanted to
come to school,
too, but they had no idea how to teach those children.</p>
<p>To the credit of
Norman and the faculty at A New Dimension of Hope, they didn’t
want to
simply send those blind kids away. They wanted them to also have
the hope that
education can bring. They wanted to teach those blind children.</p>
<p>Norman
found the Colorado Center for the Blind’s website and, while out
driving
his Uber one day, made his way to the Center and talked with
Julie Deden, and a
new partnership for Norman’s school and our Center took hold.
Julie, indeed
all of us at the Center, were and still are moved by the thought
of blind children
wanting so desperately to come to school with their sighted
siblings and friends,
hungry for their chance to learn. We believe that blind people
around the globe
are our brothers and sisters, and blind children everywhere are
our kids, too.</p>
<p>Last September, six educators from A New Dimension of Hope in
Liberia and a
partnering school in neighboring Ghana came for two weeks. We
taught them all the
Braille they could hold in that time, put learning shades on
them, and gave them
lessons in traveling with a white cane, taught them hands-on
kitchen techniques,
and generally did our level best to instill in our guests the
notion that blind
people can learn and become productive. Sadly, with few
opportunities for blind
people, many must turn to begging to support themselves in both
Ghana and Liberia.
Like Norman, these educators thought there could be more for
those blind children,
should be more for them.</p>
<p>Liberia’s is a different physical environment
than what most of us have experienced in the United States.
There are few paved
roads and almost no sidewalks or intersections with traffic
lights. Many people
in the villages surrounding the school still cook over fires
every day, so no
microwaves with tactile markings or Instant Pots with Bluetooth
controls. But
knife skills and basic measurements and determining when food is
fully cooked are
still useful. And so is the use of the white cane so that blind
children can travel
more independently and safely in their village and, soon, on
their way to school.</p>
<p>For the past two weeks, we hosted another four educators from A
New Dimension
of Hope, including the school’s principal, Suahibu Paasewe;
nurse, Nokutula
Ncube; and math teacher Miatta Kollie. Once more, we stuffed
them with Braille,
including lots of slate and stylus practice, as well as some
work on the Perkins
Brailler. There was regular cane travel under learning shades
and time in the
kitchen again. In fact, our guests traveled back to the Center’s
apartments
with Independence Training Program (ITP) students and
instructors.</p>
<p>This
group included the first blind person from Liberia we had the
privilege to host.
Noah Zowie Gibson teaches history at A New Dimension of Hope and
another school.
He is active in the United Blind Association of Liberia and
spent all the time he
could using our typing program so he could master the keyboard
by touch. He finished
more than half of the program’s forty or so lessons in just two
weeks!</p>
<p>For blind children everywhere, Braille is the bedrock of true
literacy and
lifelong learning. In a small, poor country struggling to come
into the internet
age, Braille is even more critical, if that is possible. So, we
are very grateful
to the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults for
donating 75 slates
and styli to A New Dimension of Hope for the blind children to
use at the school.</p>
<p>When it comes to technology access, we showed our Liberian
guests how the free,
open source screen reader, NVDA worked with a Windows laptop and
on the internet.
Since they have primarily Chrome Books in their computer labs,
we invited Showe
Trela from Colorado’s Blind & Low Vision Services to give a
demonstration
of the accessibility options with that device’s built-in Chrome
Vox screen
reader. And our own Charlie Acheson spent a couple of sessions
with our guests
discussing smart phones like the accessibility features
available on Android
phones, as inexpensive Android devices are most prevalent in
Liberia.</p>
<p>“What struck me most was just how limited the opportunities
were for
blind people there,” says Julie Deden. “We’re happy to do
these small things that can give those blind children greater
opportunities in
their lives.”</p>
<p>Nonvisual blindness skills are essential elements for
success, of course. But that’s only one aspect of what we aspire
to teach
at the Colorado Center for the Blind, whether we are talking
about our students,
older blind participants, the kids in our youth programs, or
sighted members of
the community, because skills aren’t enough without
belief—belief
in the value of those skills, in yourself as a blind person, and
in the potential
of all blind people to learn, grow, and contribute. Belief is
the secret sauce
and, working with our guests from Liberia, it is obvious that
they were open to
embracing that belief and carrying it home to those blind kids
who are so hungry
to learn that they will walk to the school and wait, all the
while hoping for
their opportunity to learn.</p>
<p>For many of them, the next few months will
bring the start of the new school term and an end to waiting.</p>
<p>-------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Ramona Walhof]</p>
<h2 id="idahos-blind-share-our-stories-on-youtube">Idaho’s Blind
Share Our
Stories on YouTube</h2>
<p><strong>by Ramona Walhof</strong></p>
<p><strong>From
the Editor: Ramona Walhof needs little introduction. She has
served in various
capacities in the National Federation of the Blind for the
past six decades,
including as secretary of the national organization. Ramona is
always eager to
share what she has learned through her various leadership
roles with other national,
affiliate, and state leaders, and she has a knack for finding
and explaining good
ideas to grow our movement. Even as she steps back from the
spotlight, she is
still learning and sharing, and we all benefit from her
wisdom. In this article,
she tells us about Idaho’s journey starting and maintaining a
channel on
the video-sharing platform YouTube. Although Ramona
acknowledges that, like many
of us, she still has much to learn about making and editing
videos, she understands
the importance of visual storytelling and has gained a great
deal of insight about
what kind of content drives engagement. Here is what she has
to say:</strong></p>
<p>I have been active in the National Federation of the Blind
since the 1960s. I
have held both state and national offices, and I have lived and
worked in four
different affiliates, the latest being the National Federation
of the Blind of
Idaho. Since I am growing older (I am almost eighty), I am no
longer a primary
leader, which is as it should be. But as long as I am able, I
hope and believe
that I will never stop finding useful things to do. Long ago I
learned that the
best way to get something done is to pitch in and do it yourself
or to lead the
way and hope that others will catch the fever. They usually do.</p>
<p>In 2016,
a member of the National Federation of the Blind of Idaho who
was a senior in high
school offered to create a YouTube channel for us. What a good
idea to help more
people learn about blindness and to give our members a chance to
share their
stories! This young lady, Siera, created the channel and helped
us shoot an
introductory video. Then she moved out of state for college. For
a while, we
struggled to keep the channel going. Our webmaster, Kevin
Pirnie, put up a few
more videos and used some material from our national site. A few
videos were shot
at state conventions. We added a few more during the COVID
pandemic, but none of
this was enough to build real momentum. Too few of us had
experience shooting and
editing high-quality video, and it was too expensive to hire
professionals more
than occasionally.</p>
<p>I have always struggled with computer technology. I
didn't get started learning about it until after I retired, and
using it does not
seem to come as easily as using things that I can get my hands
on physically. But
recently I have had a teacher a couple or three times a month
and have been learning
slowly and painfully to do some things with my iPhone. Then I
hired a reader who
is a college student and is interested in shooting videos. An
NFBI member who is
a YouTube afficionado also began helping. Bailie Weir found some
inexpensive Rode
lapel microphones on Amazon; these connect to an iPhone and
produce good-quality
sound. Stephanie Cascone, who directs communications and
marketing efforts at the
NFB Jernigan Institute, advised me to chop up some longish
videos into shorter
ones for new posts. My daughter has editing experience and is
willing to do a
limited amount. Our treasurer, Don Winiecki, has done some
simple editing as well.
I recruited people I barely knew or just met to shoot videos at
our recent national
convention in Houston, and Linda Hurlock from Montana and Grace
Anderson from
Alabama shot some particularly good stuff! Also during national
convention, our
Treasure Valley Chapter President, Susan Bradley, shot some
videos and learned to
operate WeTransfer, the platform we use to share the videos with
each other prior
to posting. I want to take this opportunity to thank everybody
who has helped and
everybody who has been the subject of one or more videos,
whether you are named
here or not. With all of this recent acquisition of knowledge,
equipment, and
helpers, our YouTube effort has really begun to take off. We
will have more people
involved as we go along, hopefully some from every chapter! I
will never run out
of ideas for videos, and I know that more blind people from
Idaho and beyond have
interesting stories to tell. So, as we grow our collective
capacity to shoot and
edit videos, the opportunities to use YouTube as a platform
become more exciting.</p>
<p>One of the wonderful things about YouTube and other social
media is that there
are ways of measuring whether your messages are reaching a wide
audience. YouTube
shows us how many people view, like, and comment on our videos,
and this number
is steadily increasing. As of this writing, we have 120
subscribers and 125 videos
posted, with an additional twenty-five or so ready to be posted.
Many people are
intimidated by social media because they are unsure what to
post. We have found
that the only way to learn what messages resonate and engage our
audience is to
try posting a wide variety of videos and then to observe
audience reaction. It is
impossible to predict which videos will be most popular, but
videos of people
using a white cane independently are often viewed by many.
Indeed, the first video
on our channel to receive three thousand views was of me
crossing the street with
my white cane. Not surprisingly, kids are often fun to watch.
Although a close-up
of somebody talking about a hobby or experience may be viewed a
lot, interesting
locations and activities make a high number of views more
likely. The titles
matter, too. They should be catchy, descriptive, or both. Kevin
Pirnie is naming
most of our videos; one called “Beautiful Blind African Lady
Riding Idaho
Cowboy's Horse into the Sunset” is very popular. Kevin also
creates themed
playlists: state convention, Cycle for Independence (our annual
fund-raising
bike-a-thon), national convention, employment, BELL and Beyond,
and "kids loving
Braille.” At last count, twenty-two of our videos had been
viewed more than
a hundred times each, and this will change soon because several
have close to a
hundred views. So far our highest number of views is 3,100, but
you never know
when something new will take off. And you never know when
something not so new
will suddenly get some attention. We shot a video about library
services for the
blind which sat there with little attention for a month or more.
Then suddenly it
shot up to 153 views in a couple of days. It is fun for Kevin
and me to track our
video metrics and learn from what we observe. Right now we have
more than 21,000
views altogether, and that number will hopefully be much higher
by the time you
read this. This means that we have reached somewhere between
3100 and 21,000 people
with a bit of the Federation message.</p>
<p>Our videos are intended to interest,
educate, and entertain sighted people about blindness and blind
people. Of course,
we also welcome blind and low-vision subscribers and viewers,
their family members,
and professionals, all of who may benefit from exposure to our
positive philosophy
of blindness. The videos have turned out to be an excellent way
to help members
learn more about each other as well.</p>
<p>I do not believe that every affiliate
needs to do a similar channel, but I do think it is wise for as
many affiliates
as possible to have a presence on social media. Many affiliates
already have a
presence on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok,
Instagram, or some
other platform. While some of these platforms allow text-only
posts, many also
allow the posting of images and videos, and TikTok, like
YouTube, is primarily
intended for video content. As mentioned in an informative
article in the July
issue of the <em>Braille Monitor</em>, affiliates are now being
encouraged to
establish a presence through our new nfb.social instance on
Mastodon. The NFB
national channel there, @nationsblind@nfb.social, is helpful to
all of us and sets
a high standard. With all of these platforms, as Idaho has
learned from our YouTube
experience, there is no substitute for posting items that might
be of interest
and then seeing what sparks engagement.</p>
<p>I have plans for many more videos
when I have time and have help to shoot them. Perhaps I can
eventually learn to
shoot some of the videos myself, as many of my blind friends do.
In the meantime,
I am always looking for more help shooting, editing, and
thinking up new things
to post. As long as the NFB of Idaho remains active and new
people join, we have
new raw material! Everybody has stories worth sharing.</p>
<p>Our YouTube channel
is an important part of our activities during Blindness Equality
Achievement Month,
but like many such efforts, it will be most successful if we
keep it going strong
all year long! Blind Equality Achievement Month is intended to
be a time when we
share our experiences as blind people with the public. While the
in-person events
that we create during the month are a part of this sharing,
posting videos and
other content expands the potential audience, allowing our
friends and neighbors
to learn about our lives whenever they wish to do so.</p>
<p>The NFB of Idaho
welcomes you to subscribe to Idaho's Blind on YouTube. You can
do so by visiting
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@idahosblind"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.youtube.com/@idahosblind</a>.
We will appreciate your comments, since feedback will help us
create more engaging
content, but you are also welcome to just silently “lurk” there.
We
often post five or six new videos in a week. You will recognize
some of your
friends, and you will meet people you do not know! If you want
to contribute
something, we love to receive videos from outside Idaho as well.
After all, you
are our friends and our Federation family! See you soon!</p>
<p>----------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Daniel Garcia]</p>
<h2 id="yes-virginia-chapters-can-pass-resolutions">Yes,
Virginia, Chapters Can Pass Resolutions</h2>
<p><strong>by Daniel Garcia</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: Chapters are the local organizational
units of the
National Federation of the Blind, and they act not merely as
social clubs, but as
a means for blind people to engage in collective action on the
local level. They
can do the same things that affiliate conventions and the
national convention can
do, including passing resolutions, as long as their activities
are in line with
the national constitution and do not conflict with affiliate
or national policy.
In this short article, Daniel Garcia, president of the Kansas
City Chapter of the
National Federation of the Blind of Missouri, explains how his
chapter and a
neighboring one engaged in advocacy on local transportation
issues with which we
can all identify through the passage of a resolution. Here is
what he has to
say:</strong></p>
<p>In 1897, eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a
letter to the editor of the <em>New York Sun</em> newspaper
asking a most profoundly
important question: “Is there a Santa Claus?” The answer she
received
was an unequivocal: “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.” In
the
same way that many people are unaware of the true existence of
Santa Claus, many
Federationists may not realize that passing resolutions is not
the exclusive
purview of national and state conventions. Chapters can (and
should) pass resolutions.
The Kansas City and Ivanhoe Chapters recently did.</p>
<p>The December 2022 issue
of the <em>Blind Missourian</em> featured an article I wrote
about how the Kansas
City Chapter promoted the goals of Blind Equality Achievement
Month. In that
article, I explained that I had contacted the Kansas City Area
Transportation
Authority (KCATA) about the inaccessibility of the application
for the complementary
paratransit service. I then received a call from Lewis Lowry,
Chief Transportation
Officer for the KCATA, and he agreed that the KCATA and the NFB
would work to
resolve this issue. This conversation led to Mr. Lowry attending
our November 12
chapter meeting. In January and February 2023, we attempted to
contact the KCATA
to continue our conversation about issues of concern to blind
Kansas City passengers.
Our efforts were unsuccessful, so during the March 18 chapter
meeting, we passed
a resolution calling on the KCATA to meet with representatives
of the NFB of
Missouri, Kansas City Chapter. The Ivanhoe Chapter passed a
similar resolution
during its March 25 meeting. The text of the resolution passed
by the Kansas City
Chapter is below.</p>
<p>As I was writing the draft resolution in February, I was
reviewing some old Kansas City Chapter records that have been
given to me to sort
and upload to our affiliate archive. I was humbled by the
realization that what
we were about to do on March 18 was nothing novel. The Kansas
City Chapter has
passed resolutions before. It gives me great satisfaction to
know that our chapter
is continuing a proud tradition of strong advocacy in Kansas
City.</p>
<h3
id="a-resolution-regarding-improving-public-transportation-for-kansas-city-passengers">A
Resolution Regarding Improving Public Transportation for Kansas
City Passengers</h3>
<p>WHEREAS the National Federation of the Blind is the oldest and
largest nationwide
organization defending the rights of blind Americans; and</p>
<p>WHEREAS the Kansas
City Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri
is one of two
chapters in Kansas City, Missouri that advocates for the rights
of blind Kansas
Citians; and</p>
<p>WHEREAS the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority is a
bi-state agency responsible for providing public transportation
in the Kansas City
area; and</p>
<p>WHEREAS blind Kansas Citians have experienced various problems
with public transportations recently including: the
inaccessibility of the
application for the RideKC Freedom complementary paratransit
service, paratransit
trips being canceled without the passengers’ consent,
paratransit passengers
being picked up after the agreed upon time window to initiate
the trip, RideKC
Freedom on-demand trips not being honored, shortage of
fixed-route bus drivers
causing passengers to have to wait for the next regularly
scheduled bus, and
fixed-route buses not announcing the bus number and route at the
bus stop; and</p>
<p>WHEREAS over the past few months the National Federation of the
Blind of
Missouri, Kansas City Chapter has repeatedly tried to secure a
meeting with Kansas
City Area Transportation officials to address these issues and
share ideas about
how to improve transportation for blind Kansas Citians; and</p>
<p>WHEREAS our
efforts have so far been unsuccessful: Now therefore,</p>
<p>BE IT RESOLVED by
the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri, Kansas City
Chapter, assembled
this 18th day of March, 2023, that we urge Kansas City Area
Transportation Authority
officials to meet with representatives of the National
Federation of the Blind of
Missouri, Kansas City Chapter, and reengage the Rider Advisory
Board; and</p>
<p>BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call upon members of the city
council and Mayor
Quinton Lucas to renew the Mayor’s Committee for People with
Disabilities;
and</p>
<p>BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Federation of the
Blind of
Missouri, Kansas City Chapter will continue to advocate for
improved transportation
services in the Kansas City Area by various means such as
contacting our elected
officials, engaging in public relations to bring media
attention, and partnering
with other like-minded organizations representing people with
disabilities and
passengers.</p>
<p>----------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Krystal Guillory]</p>
<h2
id="guillory-presented-the-national-educator-of-blind-children-award">Guillory
Presented the National Educator of Blind Children Award</h2>
<p><strong>by Cathi
Cox-Boniol</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: Those who attended the Board
of Directors meeting at the 2023 National Convention, or who
read about it in the
August/September issue of this magazine, may recall that
Krystal Guillory was
surprised when, instead of simply being called upon to give a
presentation about
the annual Braille Book Fair, she instead found herself
receiving the Distinguished
Educator of Blind Students Award. Others present were perhaps
not quite as surprised
as she was, since Krystal is well known for her advocacy for
blind students and
her many activities within the Federation. But she received
the award specifically
for the work she does every day in the schools of Lincoln
Parish, Louisiana, and
the local papers there took notice of the recognition. This
article originally
appeared on July 14, 2023 in the <em>Ruston Daily Leader</em>,
the newspaper
serving the hometown of both Krystal and the Louisiana Center
for the Blind. It
is reprinted here with the newspaper’s kind permission. Here
it is:</strong></p>
<p>When Krystal Guillory headed to Houston for the National
Federation of the
Blind conference, she had one thing on her mind—ace her
presentation. So,
when her name was called as the recipient of the annual
Distinguished Educator of
Blind Students Award, she was caught completely off guard.</p>
<p>“I was
in shock to say the least,” Guillory said. “Never in my wildest
dreams did I think I would win a national award for teaching. I
pour into my
students daily, but I think as teachers we are always thinking
what’s next,
and there’s so much more to do.”</p>
<p>A teacher of blind students
for over twenty years, Guillory credits her involvement in the
National Federation
of the Blind with dramatically increasing her effectiveness in
inspiring and
motivating her students. She also serves as coordinator for NFB
BELL academies in
the state of Louisiana and is a board member of the Louisiana
division of the
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children.</p>
<p>“Krystal Guillory
has an outstanding track record of raising expectations for
blind students and
their families in Louisiana, both those whom she instructs
directly and others
throughout the state,” said Mark Riccobono, President of the
National
Federation of the Blind. “She is an advocate for Braille
literacy, early
cane travel, and other critical blindness skills. She was
instrumental in helping
to create NFB BELL Academy In-Home Edition to serve blind
students across the
nation during the pandemic, and she enhances that program and
other Braille literacy
efforts across Louisiana and the United States. These qualities
make her an
outstanding recipient of our Distinguished Educator of Blind
Students award.”</p>
<p>The Distinguished Educator of Blind Students award carries with
it a $1,000
cash prize and an opportunity to address hundreds of parents of
blind students
and network with other blind individuals and teachers of blind
students.</p>
<p>Pam
Allen, Executive Director for the Louisiana Center for the
Blind, said the
recognition was well deserved.</p>
<p>“Krystal serves as the treasurer for
the NFB of Louisiana, is a loving and devoted wife, mother, and
leader in
church,” Allen said. “She always goes the extra mile and has
incredibly
high expectations. Because of her creativity, commitment,
leadership and dedicated
service, the lives of blind children and their families have
been truly
transformed.”</p>
<p>In addition to Allen’s submission, Guillory
was nominated by several individuals including parents of
students she has served,
students, and colleagues. Because she wasn’t involved in the
nomination
process, the honor came as a complete surprise.</p>
<p>“My colleagues and
husband were all in cahoots on the nomination and I did not know
about it until
I was at the conference and prepared to speak about a Braille
Book Fair that I
help to coordinate,” Guillory said. “I think that I am the first
teacher that they have ever surprised as normally the recipients
prepare a
speech.”</p>
<p>Guillory also gives credit where credit is due. Noting the
support of her husband Eric and the encouragement of Ruby Ryles,
who championed
the push for Braille for students regardless of their functional
vision, she also
offers gratitude for the immense support at the local level.</p>
<p>Sharing that
Lincoln Parish benefits from supportive administrators,
colleagues and paraeducators
that believe in blind children, she sees the award as a
recognition for a superb
team.</p>
<p>“Pam Allen has been a huge support for me, my students, and
families throughout our state,” Guillory added. “She has never
told
me no about any need when it comes to our students. She has
helped us secure
teaching materials and equipment, supported families to come to
conventions,
provided a means for us to have weekend events, and other
things. And while I am
so blessed to have received the Distinguished Educator of Blind
Students award,
I have only been successful because I work with phenomenal teams
filled with
hardworking teachers and blind mentors.”</p>
<p>In reflecting on how the
award might impact her ongoing commitment and work, Guillory is
notably moved.</p>
<p>“As teachers, there usually aren’t many accolades received. We
receive intangible gifts—a student reading for the first time, a
student
graduating with honors—but this tangible plaque is something I
can have in
my classroom reminding me even in the long, hard days that I am
making a difference
and touching lives. This award has rejuvenated and inspired me
to dream bigger
for my students and the future.”</p>
<p>----------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION:
Gary Van Dorn and Jean Kerr]</p>
<h2
id="gary-van-dorn-go-to-guy-at-nfbco-wins-minoru-yasui-community-volunteer-award">Gary
Van Dorn, “Go to Guy” at NFBCO, wins Minoru Yasui Community
Volunteer
Award</h2>
<p><strong>by Cindy Piggott</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor:
Cindy Piggott chairs the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer
Award Committee, which
presents an award each month to an outstanding volunteer in
the Denver area.
According to their website, the award’s namesake was “a
community
leader dedicated to improving the quality of life for all
people. Educated as an
attorney, Minoru Yasui served as the Executive Director of the
Denver Commission
on Community Relations for sixteen years and was a champion of
civil rights. Mr.
Yasui died in 1986.” In August of 2023, the committee
recognized Gary Van
Dorn, who was nominated by his Federation family. Here is the
profile that the
committee shared with local readers through a community blog
hosted by the <em>Denver
Post:</em></strong></p>
<p>Gary Van Dorn’s motto is “to believe in
the security, equality and opportunity for the blind.” The blind
should be
able to do all the things that everyone else can do! A sunny day
on the 16th Street
Mall was the stage for the August celebration honoring Van Dorn
with the Minoru
Yasui Community Volunteer Award in celebration of his
extraordinary volunteer
efforts with the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado.</p>
<p>The National
Federation of the Blind of Colorado is made up of visually
impaired people of all
ages, their families, and friends. Their members and leaders
provide advocacy and
support to blind and visually impaired Coloradans across the
state. They work
together to promote full participation and integration of blind
people in all
areas of life. They serve as an advocate for change when equal
access and treatment
of the blind is denied. Their specific mission is to achieve
widespread emotional
acceptance and intellectual understanding that the real problem
of blindness is
not the loss of eyesight but the misconceptions and lack of
information that exist.
They do this by bringing blind people together to share
successes, to support each
other in times of failure, and to create imaginative solutions.</p>
<p>Van Dorn,
who is legally blind, has worked for the past thirty years as a
policy/risk analyst
for the Internal Revenue Service. During that time, he also has
volunteered at
NFBCO, serving on its board of directors.</p>
<p>He attends every meeting of the
[Federation] and provides professional advice regarding tax code
and filing
expertise. Quietly outgoing, he never seeks the limelight and
always reaches out
to new members on the fringe of the organization making them
feel welcome. Van
Dorn is always there to lend a hand setting up for conventions
and meetings. He
is the “Go to Guy” for any and all transportation questions or
general information about Denver. His phenomenal memory provides
accurate detailed
information for those he talks with to quickly access the
details they need or
help them find the proper contact to answer questions.</p>
<p>In 2011, Van Dorn
recognized that while NFBCO currently had a chapter in the
Littleton area, there
was a significant need for a chapter that would meet in downtown
Denver. He sprang
into action and organized the Mile High Chapter, which meets in
the downtown area
on Wednesday evenings. Van Dorn served as the president of this
chapter from
2011-2015. He continues to serve as the treasurer of the chapter
and remains very
involved.</p>
<p>Van Dorn’s focus is transportation. Public transportation
is challenging for people who can see. For those who are
visually impaired or
blind, it can be harrowing. Van Dorn has served as an
extraordinary advocate for
transit in the downtown Denver area. Not just an advocate, he is
one of the 16th
Street Mall “project champions.” He volunteers as a board member
for the Downtown Denver Partnership and ensures that the mall
and the business
occupants of the mall are aware of any accessibility issues for
the blind. He is
actively involved in meetings regarding the Colfax redevelopment
project. He is
the spokesperson for the blind for RTD and frequently attends
RTD meetings
representing the Mile High Chapter of NFBCO. Van Dorn pays
particularly close
attention to changes in routes to ensure equal accessibility for
the blind
community.</p>
<p>As the organization’s Transportation Committee chairperson,
Van Dorn has inspired committee members to focus on critical
issues affecting the
blind community. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Ensuring that audible announcements
on the 16th Street Mall Free Bus work, even when the buses
are detoured due to
construction;</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Working with the Denver International
Airport to improve rideshare pickup and drop-off procedures
for the blind;</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Studying state regulations governing transportation
networks
such as Lyft and Uber to prevent price gouging; and</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Collaborating with technology experts to ensure that
transportation schedules
are non-visually accessible.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>In his nominating letter, Curtis
Chong wrote, “Mr. Van Dorn is a caring and warm-hearted
individual who
never seems too busy to help someone in need. He believes in the
innate normality
of people who are blind or who struggle with other disabilities
while at the same
time, holding them to a high standard of accomplishment.”</p>
<p>Van Dorn
donated the $2,000 cash award to The National Federation of the
Blind of Colorado.</p>
<p>Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, ”The purpose of life is not to
be happy.
It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to
have it make some
difference that you have lived and lived well.” The Minoru Yasui
Community
Volunteer Award celebrates those extraordinary volunteers who
make a contribution
and change lives. They choose to “live well.”</p>
<p>The Minoru
Yasui Community Volunteer Award is now a program of Spark the
Change Colorado.
Sponsors of this award include The Yasui Family, Lanny and
Sharon Martin, Lynne
Butler, Don and Liza Kirkpatrick, Sharon Bishop, About Time
Awards, and MYCVA
Committee members. If you know of an extraordinary volunteer or
would like to
donate to this award, please visit our website at <a
href="http://www.minyasui.org" moz-do-not-send="true">www.minyasui.org</a>.</p>
<p>----------</p>
<p>[PHOTO
CAPTION: Marc Maurer]</p>
<h2
id="reflecting-on-the-ten-year-anniversary-of-the-marrakesh-treaty">Reflecting
on
the Ten-Year Anniversary of the Marrakesh Treaty</h2>
<p><strong>by Marc
Maurer</strong></p>
<p><strong>Editor’s Note: On the afternoon of Monday,
July 3, the National Association of Blind Lawyers convened for
its annual meeting.
One of the first items on the agenda was this presentation
from Dr. Marc Maurer,
the Immediate Past President of the National Federation of the
Blind. Here is what
he said to the gathering:</strong></p>
<p>The Marrakesh Treaty, officially entitled
Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for
Persons Who are Blind,
Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled, is a document
created in a meeting
that took place in Marrakesh, Morocco, in June of 2013. The
meeting was a diplomatic
conference attended by representatives from dozens of countries,
known by the
cognoscenti as a dipcon. I was then serving as President of the
National Federation
of the Blind, but I could not attend the meeting because I was
working to get
ready for our 2013 National Convention. I sent Scott LaBarre to
be our representative,
and a very fortunate choice that it was for us.</p>
<p>The World Blind Union had
proposed that such a treaty be created in 2008, and the National
Federation of
the Blind strongly supported the treaty. Long before we reached
the gathering in
Morocco, officials in the Obama administration had tried to talk
us out of the
treaty. They said they would support a non-legal international
understanding (a
“soft law” approach they called it) that would facilitate
lending
accessible books for the blind across country borders. They said
that this would
have the same effect as a treaty. Getting a treaty adopted would
be next to
impossible, they told us. Even if we could get it adopted, the
Senate would never
ratify it.</p>
<p>Within a few months, we hosted an executive committee meeting
of the World Blind Union in Baltimore. Maryanne Diamond, who has
served as president
of the World Blind Union, asked, “Why are you giving up without
a fight?
Don’t you believe that we should share materials for the blind
throughout
the world?” This changed the approach of the National Federation
of the
Blind. We informed the Obama administration that we wanted a
treaty, that we would
do our best to get it, and that we would not settle for inferior
substitutes that
do not have the force of law.</p>
<p>In Marrakesh, Scott LaBarre had the tricky
assignment of finding ways to negotiate the proper language for
the treaty. He
was required to be sufficiently demanding to get the language in
the treaty that
we wanted and sufficiently charming to get people to want the
language to be there.
Everybody seemed to want to water down the treaty. Libraries
could (some people
said) share books with each other, but they would have to keep
records of who
borrowed the books and produce those records on demand along
with proof that the
people borrowing them met the definition of print disability.
The librarians had
a fit. They said that they could not violate the privacy rights
of all their
patrons and that the workload of keeping such records would be
intolerable. The
publishers said that lending books in Braille would be fine but
that lending
electronic books couldn’t be in the treaty. Blind organizations
from around
the world said that the treaty would have to include electronic
books because the
entire publishing industry was headed that way. Some publishers
said that recorded
books could not be lent across borders because a print book has
its copyright,
and as soon as you make a recorded book, it’s a different book
with a
different copyright. The new book has its own protection, and
even if there’s
a copyright exception to the print book, it doesn’t apply to
recorded
material.</p>
<p>The arguments seemed endless. When Scott LaBarre got to
Marrakesh,
thirty-seven distinct differences in language remained for
discussion in the
proposed draft of the treaty. As negotiations continued,
additional differences
in language and arguments about what the treaty should say were
presented by the
representatives of the countries involved in the diplomatic
conference.</p>
<p>The
proposed treaty was regarded with alarm by rights holders of
intellectual property
from many, many different disciplines. Copyright law in the
United States is
intended to protect the rights of those who own the copyright.
Most treaties
dealing with copyright are written to give added emphasis to the
protections
required for the holders. This treaty was directed toward
creating exceptions to
copyright protections, and the rights holders were worried that
it might be the
forerunner of other efforts to loosen copyright protection. Not
only the Motion
Picture Association of America but also Exxon Mobile, GE,
Caterpillar, Adobe, IBM,
Association of American Publishers, International Publishers
Association, and
many, many others opposed the treaty. Our job was to change
their minds or silence
the criticism. Many of our opponents came to recognize the value
of the treaty
and joined us in supporting it before the end of negotiations.
On June 25, 2013,
the language was complete. The final version was adopted on the
28<sup>th</sup>.</p>
<p>In October 2013, the United States signed the treaty. Then
began another
negotiation to get the treaty through the executive branch and
onto the Senate
floor. Once again, the arguments seemed endless. The State
Department creates a
packet of material to be presented to the Senate so that the
treaty can be
considered. The treaty cannot come into force, however, unless
conforming legislation
is adopted by Congress to bring American law into line with the
provisions of the
treaty itself. When the Senate considers a treaty, it can reject
it or accept it.
If the Senate determines to accept a treaty, it can do so with
exceptions, known
in the trade as RUDs—reservations, understandings, and
declarations. If
the Senate loads a treaty with enough of these exceptions, the
force of that treaty
is diminished. Scott LaBarre’s job was to get a clean packet of
material
out of the State Department so that the treaty could come to the
Senate floor with
as few exceptions as possible.</p>
<p>In the meantime, the World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO), the segment of the United Nations
that deals with
copyright around the world, formed in the spring of 2014 the
Accessible Book
Consortium to manage accessible titles that could be transported
across borders
to libraries for the blind. Scott LaBarre served as one of the
founding board
members of this international organization.</p>
<p>The State Department finally
completed the package of materials for the Senate in the spring
of 2016. In the
spring of 2018, the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate
received testimony
from the State Department, the National Federation of the Blind,
and others before
unanimously recommending the treaty for passage to the Senate.
The chairman of
the committee noted that in a most unusual occurrence in
Washington, there was
bipartisan, enthusiastic support for the treaty. The Senate
ratified the treaty
by unanimous consent in June 2018 and adopted implementing
legislation to conform
US law to the treaty language. The House of Representatives
adopted the same
conforming bill in September. The president signed that bill
into law on October
9, 2018. In February 2019, an emissary from the United States
carried a ratification
document to Geneva to indicate that the treaty was in effect in
the United States.
The United States was the fiftieth country to ratify the treaty.
The title of the
treaty, the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published
Works for Persons
Who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled,
is significant. In
Marrakesh, arguments occurred repeatedly that this title was too
long, too
cumbersome, too verbose. Scott LaBarre said we have done all
this work, we have
negotiated with so many for so long in good faith, we are not
leaving blind out
of the title. It must show that this treaty is to serve blind
people. His argument
to maintain the descriptive title was successful.</p>
<p>Now, nonprofit organizations
or governmental entities that have a primary part of their
business to serve as
libraries for the blind can share books across country borders
for the use of the
blind. The books can be recorded, electronic, Braille, or large
print. More than
130,000 books from the blindness collection in the National
Library Service for
the Blind and Print Disabled of the Library of Congress have
been shared with the
World Intellectual Property Organization. Almost 5,000 titles
from the World
Intellectual Property Organization have been added to the
Library of Congress
collection of books for the blind. WIPO has books in eighty
different languages,
and since the adoption of the Marrakesh Treaty, books in
thirteen new languages
have been added to the Library of Congress books for the blind
collection. According
to the latest information from WIPO, there are more than three
quarters of a
million books in its collection.</p>
<p>The Accessible Books Consortium came into
being only nine years ago. Its collection of books being
distributed for the World
Intellectual Property Organization will undoubtedly be one of
the world’s
greatest libraries for the use of the blind. This happened
because of the work of
the National Federation of the Blind, but especially because of
the contributions
of Scott LaBarre.</p>
<p>----------</p>
<h2 id="we-need-your-help">We Need Your
Help</h2>
<p><em>Very soon after I went blind, I went to my first convention
of
the National Federation of the Blind. Though as a six-year-old
I was not scared
about my future as a blind person, learning about the NFB and
going to conventions
showed me tons of independent blind people who I could look up
to. Real life
superheroes that I could aspire to be like.</em> - Abigail</p>
<p>Blind children,
students, and adults are making powerful strides in education
and leadership every
day across the United States, but we need to continue helping
kids like Abigail.
For more than eighty years, the National Federation of the Blind
has worked to
transform the dreams of hundreds of thousands of blind people
into reality. With
support from individuals like you, we can continue to provide
powerful programs
and critical resources now and for decades to come. We hope you
will plan to be
a part of our enduring movement by including the National
Federation of the Blind
in your charitable giving and in your estate planning. It is
easier than you
think.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With your help, the NFB will continue to:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Give blind children the gift of literacy through Braille.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Mentor young people like Abigail.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Promote independent travel
by providing free, long white canes to blind people in need.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Develop
dynamic educational projects and programs to show blind
youth that science and
math careers are within their reach.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Deliver hundreds of accessible
newspapers and magazines to provide blind people the
essential information necessary
to be actively involved in their communities.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Offer aids and
appliances that help seniors losing vision maintain their
independence.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Below are just a few of the many tax-deductible ways you can
show your
support of the National Federation of the Blind.</p>
<h3 id="lyft-round-up">LYFT
Round Up </h3>
<p>By visiting the menu, choosing donate, and selecting the
National
Federation of the Blind, you commit to giving to the National
Federation of the
Blind with each ride.</p>
<h3 id="vehicle-donation-program">Vehicle Donation
Program</h3>
<p>We accept donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats,
motorcycles, or recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314
toll-free, and a
representative can make arrangements to pick up your donation.
We can also answer
any questions you have.</p>
<h3 id="general-donation">General Donation</h3>
<p>General donations help support the ongoing programs of the NFB
and the work to
help blind people live the lives they want. You can call
410-659-9314, extension
2430, to give by phone. Give online with a credit card or
through the mail with
check or money order. Visit our Ways to Give Page at: <a
href="https://nfb.org/give" moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://nfb.org/give</a>.</p>
<h3 id="pre-authorized-contributions">Pre-Authorized Contributions</h3>
<p>Through
the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters
sustain the efforts of
the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring monthly
donations by
direct withdrawal of funds from a checking account or a charge
to a credit card.
To enroll, call 877-NFB-2PAC, or fill out our PAC Donation Form
<a href="https://www.nfb.org/pac" moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.nfb.org/pac</a>.</p>
<h4 id="plan-to-leave-a-legacy">Plan to Leave a Legacy</h4>
<p>The National Federation
of the Blind legacy society, our Dream Makers Circle, honors and
recognizes the
generosity and imagination of members and special friends who
have chosen to leave
a legacy through a will or other planned giving option. You can
join the Dream
Makers Circle in a myriad of ways.</p>
<h4 id="percentage-or-fixed-sum-of-assets">Percentage
or Fixed Sum of Assets</h4>
<p>You can specify that a percentage or a fixed sum
of your assets or property goes to the National Federation of
the Blind in your
will, trust, pension, IRA, life insurance policy, brokerage
account, or other
accounts.</p>
<h4 id="payable-on-death-pod-account">Payable on Death (POD)
Account</h4>
<p>You can name the National Federation of the Blind as the
beneficiary
on a Payable on Death (POD) account through your bank. You can
turn any checking
or savings account into a POD account. This is one of the
simplest ways to leave
a legacy. The account is totally in your control during your
lifetime, and you
can change the beneficiary or percentage at any time with ease.</p>
<h4 id="will-or-trust">Will or Trust</h4>
<p>If you do decide to create or revise your
will, consider the National Federation of the Blind as a partial
beneficiary.</p>
<p>Visit our Planned Giving webpage (<a
href="https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give/planned-giving"
moz-do-not-send="true"><u>https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give/planned-giving</u></a>)
or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information.</p>
<p>In 2022 our
supporters helped the NFB:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Send 371 Braille Santa and Winter
Celebration letters to blind children, encouraging
excitement for Braille
literacy.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Distribute over three thousand canes to blind people
across the United States, empowering them to travel safely
and independently
throughout their communities.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Deliver more than five hundred
newspapers and magazines to more than 100,000 subscribers
with print disabilities
free of charge.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Give over seven hundred Braille-writing slates
and styluses free of charge to blind users.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Mentor 207 blind youth
during our Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning®
Academy.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Award thirty scholarships each in the amount of $8,000 to
blind students.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Just imagine what we will do this year, and, with your help,
what can be
accomplished for years to come. Together with love, hope,
determination, and your
support, we will continue to transform dreams into reality.</p>
<p>----------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: John G. Paré]</p>
<h2 id="we-should-all-live-ambitiously">We
Should All Live Ambitiously</h2>
<p><strong>by John G. Paré</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: John is the executive director of our
Advocacy and
Policy Team, and he led the team in providing information
about the programs he
supervises and the legislative proposals we support. Along
with his team, which
some call the four J’s (John, Justin, Jeff, and Jesse); they
gave us both
our progress and our marching orders. Here is what John said
to the 2023 National
Convention:</strong></p>
<p>CNBC recently began promoting the tagline “Live
Ambitiously.” Their website includes a video where each of their
anchors
and newscasters describe how their ambition helped get them to
where they are
today. I wonder how many people think about blind people when
they think about
living ambitiously. Do they think we have dreams of a good
education, rewarding
jobs, a welcoming home, and a family? Or are their expectations
so low that they
think we are happy to just sit at home fighting inaccessible
websites, applications,
and technology?</p>
<p>The Cambridge Dictionary defines ambition as “a
strong wish to achieve something.” That’s exactly what I observe
with the members of the National Federation of the Blind. We are
determined to
live the lives we want and we are willing to work as hard as
necessary to ensure
all blind Americans have this opportunity.</p>
<p>This concept is not new for us.
In his 1956 speech, “Within the Grace of God,” Dr. tenBroek
said:
“Our access to the mainstreams of community life, the
aspirations and
achievements of each of us, are to be limited only by the
skills, energy, talents,
and abilities we individually bring to the opportunities.” Not
only are we
individually ambitious, but we, the whole of the National
Federation of the Blind,
have collective ambition as well.</p>
<p>One example is our effort to pass laws
and influence regulations that would improve opportunities and
protect the civil
rights of blind Americans. You will be hearing more about our
specific bills in
a few minutes.</p>
<p>On May 18, Tony Coelho, the father of the Americans with
Disabilities Act, and Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House from
1995 to 1999,
published an article on Websites and Software Applications
Accessibility. They
said: “It’s about time that businesses embraced digital
accessibility
as a key brand imperative and took ownership of the role that
web and software
design play in the employee and customer experience. People with
disabilities
should be able to universally access technology even as new
innovations occur.”
We could not agree more.</p>
<p>We are working with Senator Duckworth and
Representative Sarbanes to get the Websites and Software
Applications Accessibility
Act reintroduced in both the Senate and House respectively.
Regarding ADA website
accessibility regulations, the DOJ must move forward on both the
Title 2 and Title
3 NPRM. They began this work in 2010. Twelve years is long
enough. The DOJ Civil
Rights Division must move forward NOW.</p>
<p>On March 27, 2023, Elizabeth Schoen,
a member of the National Association of Blind Students, was
scheduled to fly on
JetBlue from Minneapolis to Boston. But JetBlue refused to let
her board her plane
because she was traveling with a guide dog. They said there was
a problem with
her paperwork but refused to work with her to resolve the issue.
JetBlue employees
even mocked her when she took the initiative to call customer
service. While she
did not fly that day, Elizabeth did not stop advocating for
herself. She reported
the problem to JetBlue and filed a complaint with the US
Department of
Transportation.</p>
<p>On April 27, 2023, Al Elia, Justin Young, and I accompanied
Elizabeth to the Department of Transportation in Washington, DC,
to meet with
Blane Workie, the Assistant General Counsel for the Office of
Aviation Consumer
Protection. Elizabeth told her story once again reliving each
traumatic moment.
It is because of Elizabeth and so many others who have reported
airline discrimination
that we now have the attention of the Department of
Transportation. Blind people
who travel with guide dogs have the right to travel on airlines
and we will do
everything in our power to protect that right.</p>
<p>California SB581 is a bill
that would dramatically hinder our legal advocacy in that state.
Tim Elder, the
president of the NFB of California wrote the bill sponsor with
our concerns and
offered edits to rectify the issue. At the last moment, the
state legislature
scheduled a hearing on this and other bills. We contacted
Shannon Dillon, who
coordinates our California state-level advocacy, and asked her
if she could attend
and speak at the hearing. She dropped everything she had planned
and went to the
state legislature for the morning hearing. After several hours,
the hearing was
adjourned until the evening. Shannon went home and then returned
at 5:00 p.m. to
learn that nearly forty bills would be discussed. She had to
wait until 10:30 p.m.
to testify. As a result of Shannon’s perseverance and persuasive
testimony,
I am happy to report the bill was suspended.</p>
<p>Scott White is responsible
for our NFB-NEWSLINE® service. NFB-NEWSLINE is the largest and
most effective
newspaper and information service available to the blind
anywhere in the world.
It is available via the telephone, the web, the Victor Reader
Stream, the NLS
digital talking book player, the Amazon Echo, and the IOS app.
There are 577
publications and some portion of NFB-NEWSLINE is accessed every
1.4 seconds. Recent
additions include the <em>Modesto Bee, Bismarck Journal,
Hickory Daily Record,
Shanghai Daily,</em> and <em>Kiev Independent.</em> There are
also TV listings
for every cable and satellite provider, seven-day weather
forecasts, emergency
alerts, and job listings. If you do not already use
NFB-NEWSLINE, I urge you to
sign up.</p>
<p>Sean Seward is our manager of the Independence Market. He,
along
with our organizational technology group, is working hard to
launch our eCommerce
system. In the meantime, you can browse our catalog on our
website and order items
by calling our main number. We have over 400 items in our
catalog including white
canes, Braille and audio watches, kitchen aids, measuring tools,
and games. We
also have NFB logoed shirts, jackets, and hats. If you don’t
already have
any NFB logoed attire, check out our catalog.</p>
<p>United States Olympic gold
medalist Jesse Owens, once said: “We all have dreams. But in
order to make
dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of
determination, dedication,
self-discipline, and effort.” Our dream is a world where blind
people can
live the lives we want as valued and respected members of
society.</p>
<p>We will
not let low expectations of blind people diminish our dreams for
an equal
education.</p>
<p>We will not let low expectations diminish our dreams for
employment
and career advancement. We will not let the discrimination we
experience diminish
our ambition. When we encounter an inaccessible website, we will
demand that it
is fixed. When we encounter an inaccessible medical device, we
will strengthen
our advocacy. When regulations hinder our opportunities, we will
demand that they
are changed.</p>
<p>This work is not easy but we are up to the task. Our resolve
is steadfast, our determination is relentless, and our ambition
is strong. We will
work together with love, hope, and determination, and we will
live the lives we
want ambitiously.</p>
<p>----------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Jeff Kaloc]</p>
<h2 id="aiming-big-to-achieve-our-objectives">Aiming Big to
Achieve Our Objectives</h2>
<p><strong>by Jeff Kaloc</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: As John Paré
pointed out when introducing him to the convention, Jeff Kaloc
has experience as
a staffer on Capitol Hill. Now he brings that expertise to the
other side of the
table in helping us to craft our legislative efforts. Here is
what Jeff said to
the convention:</strong></p>
<p>It is good to be with everyone here in Houston!
The fact that you are here at this convention, the largest
gathering of blind
people, speaks volumes about what becoming a member of the
National Federation of
the Blind means by expressing our voices, contributing to the
organized blind
movement, and making progress each and every day!</p>
<p>Houston is known for many
things. The same can be said about the entire state of Texas.
The saying goes that
everything is bigger in Texas. Now that I’ve been here a few
days, I’d
have to agree. Let’s keep that sentiment in line with our goals,
to aim
big with our policy objectives.</p>
<p>The Access Technology Affordability
Act’s support has grown enormously since it was introduced
several Congresses
ago. With politics becoming more partisan, it is refreshing to
forward a bill that
is bipartisan because accessibility isn’t solely a Republican or
Democratic
policy, it is an American ideal. The bipartisan support is
evident in its reflection
of cosponsors. In the 117<sup>th</sup> Congress, the bill had
165 House cosponsors
and forty cosponsors in the Senate. In the current Congress, the
118<sup>th</sup>
Congress, the bill has been introduced by Representative Mike
Kelly, a House
Republican, with Representative Mike Thompson, a Democrat, as
the lead cosponsor.
In the Senate, the bill is sponsored by Democratic Senator Ben
Cardin and Senator
John Boozman, a Republican, as the lead cosponsor. The support
for this bill has
grown in other ways, too. It is legislation known by committee
staff and recognized
by Congressional leadership.</p>
<p>None of this progress would have been possible
without our hard work and dedication to advocate for this
legislation. Whether it
be attending Washington Seminar, calling and writing your
members of Congress,
attending at town halls, and being active on social media, we
made sure our voice
was heard and this bill has gotten the attention it deserved. We
understand the
importance of addressing the high cost of access technology that
places far too
many blind people at a disadvantage. Affordable access
technology is often the
determining factor to passing a class or applying for a job
opening. It allows
blind people to interact in the digital world that has now
become a necessity for
everyday life. That is why we must stay vigilant in our efforts
by continuing to
advocate until this legislation is passed and signed into law!</p>
<p>None of our
advocacy would be possible without the ability to cast a ballot.
How can we feel
that our ballots matter if it cannot be cast both privately and
independently?
That is why we at the National Federation of the Blind have been
relentless in
our efforts to ensure that whether you choose to go to the polls
or remain at
home, voting can and must be accessible for all blind Americans.
We need to continue
to advocate for enhanced training at polling places. Poll
workers need to be
properly trained and equipped to operate ballot-marking devices.
We need to ensure
that ballot-marking devices are set up and fully operational
from the beginning
of Election Day. In addition, we also urge that more blind
people become poll
workers, thereby becoming involved in the election process.</p>
<p>Since the
pandemic, remote voting has increased significantly. Countless
states have allowed
voters without disabilities to cast their ballots from the
safety and convenience
of their homes. The same principle must be allowed for blind
voters. Thirteen
states permit accessible remote voting for the blind and
print-disabled by allowing
blind voters to cast ballots through electronic ballot delivery
and return. These
states have worked with security experts to ensure that this
process is both
accessible and secure. Over thirty states have allowed for blind
voters to request
a ballot to be delivered electronically. While this helps in
requesting and marking
the ballot, the entire process is not accessible, as it requires
us to still print,
sign, and return a ballot by mail. We know there is a better way
to provide security
and accessibility because, as mentioned previously, thirteen
states allow electronic
ballot delivery and return.</p>
<p>These policies are more important now than
ever. We now face new challenges that impede our path to
accessible remote voting.
Relentless attempts from organizations entrenched with
ill-advised policies have
provided state legislatures and governors’ offices with
misguided and
nonfactual information about election security concerns
regarding electronic ballot
return—attempts cloaked in fear rather than expertise. The
baseless attempts
have caused havoc, thereby stalling our efforts to provide
electronic ballot return
in numerous states.</p>
<p>But the National Federation of the Blind has never been
known to back down from a fight! That is why we cannot stop our
advocacy now. That
is why we are continuing our efforts to educate our lawmakers
and state officials
about the practice that can be put into place to ensure election
security and
enhance accessibility. Everything that we have worked for is on
the ballot in
2024, and we will continue to advocate until every blind voter
in the United States
can vote with the same ease of use as voters without
disabilities!</p>
<p>----------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Justin Young]</p>
<h2 id="progress-on-medical-access-and-equal-wages">Progress
on Medical Access and Equal Wages</h2>
<p><strong>by Justin Young</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: John Paré told the convention that
Justin Young
is sometimes called the smartest member of the government
affairs team because he
has associates, masters and doctorate degrees. Here is what
Justin told the
convention about progress on his areas of focus:</strong></p>
<p><em>The
Merriam-Webster Dictionary</em> defines progress as “a forward
or onward
movement to an objective or goal.” Over the past year, we have
made progress
in the areas of nonvisual access to medical devices, accessible
prescription
labels, and ending the payment of subminimum wages.</p>
<p>On March 1, 2023,
Representative Jan Schakowsky from Illinois, along with
thirty-two initial
cosponsors, introduced H.R. 1328, the Medical Device Nonvisual
Accessibility Act.
The bill authorizes the FDA to adopt nonvisual access standards
for class II and
III medical devices with digital interfaces. Some examples
include continuous
glucose monitors, insulin pumps, and CPAP machines. By adopting
these new nonvisual
accessible standards, it would ensure we are able to
independently, safely, and
accessibly operate our medical devices. Between the months of
March through May,
as a direct result of our hard work, we have gained an
additional sixteen cosponsors,
bringing the current count to forty-eight. This is significant
because for the
117<sup>th</sup> Congress, which is a two-year cycle, we had a
total of sixty-five.
I know we can meet and exceed that number in the 118<sup>th</sup>
Congress. We
are working diligently to ensure there will be a companion bill
in the Senate this
Congress.</p>
<p>Along with having access to medical devices, we must also be
able
to correctly identify prescription medicine. Several affiliates
have done work to
ensure that pharmacies are required to provide accessible
prescription drug labels.
In 2023, the states of Maryland and Hawaii passed laws mandating
that prescription
drug labels are nonvisually accessible. Additionally, the State
Boards of Pharmacy
in Washington and Florida are working on regulations to adopt
guidelines for
accessible prescription labeling. Furthermore, Tennessee, which
passed a law on
accessible prescription labeling last year, has begun the
implementation process.</p>
<p>Along with making progress on accessible medical devices and
prescription
labeling, we are also making progress on eliminating the
practice of subminimum
wages both at the federal and state levels. On February 27 and
28, 2023, the
Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act was
introduced in the
United States Senate and House of Representatives respectively.
The Senate bill
is S. 533, and the House bill is H.R. 1263. This bill will phase
out, over a
five-year period, Section 14C of the Fair Labor Standards Act,
ensuring we all
have the right to a fair wage. It is time to eliminate this
antiquated and
discriminatory practice. In addition to the introduction of the
Transformation to
Competitive Integrated Employment Act, the AbilityOne Commission
adopted a policy
that went into effect on October 19, 2022, which prohibits
subminimum wages on
AbilityOne contracts. At the state level, there has also been
progress to eliminate
subminimum wages. On April 12, 2023, the Virginia Governor
signed HB1924, which
phases out the payment of subminimum wages completely by 2030,
making it the
seventeenth state to eliminate or limit the use of subminimum
wages. There have
also been efforts in Minnesota, Illinois, and Kentucky to end
subminimum wages
over the past year. It is past time for us to earn a fair wage
for the work we
perform. With the strong determination of the National
Federation of the Blind,
we will achieve our goal of living the lives we want as valued
and respected
members of society.</p>
<p>----------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Jesse Shirek]</p>
<h2 id="my-journey-of-discovery-risk-and-reward">My Journey of
Discovery, Risk,
and Reward</h2>
<p><strong>by Jesse Shirek</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor:
Jesse Shirek is the newest member of the government affairs
team in the Advocacy
and Policy Department at the NFB Jernigan Institute in
Baltimore. He was originally
hired to work with the NFB-NEWSLINE® team after proving
himself in multiple
technology and affiliate leadership roles. Here is what Jesse
had to say to the
national convention:</strong></p>
<p>My path to our national convention stage has
been a journey of discovery; of risk and reward.</p>
<p>I have served in many
capacities in the National Federation of the Blind, including
serving on the
national scholarship committee and as NFB of North Dakota
affiliate president. My
dreams came true when I was invited to become a national staff
member in 2021,
advancing our NFB-NEWSLINE program.</p>
<p>Let me take you back to my first job
delivering newspapers in North Dakota at age twelve. Yes, people
used to be paid
to deliver newspapers. What do you think is the biggest struggle
for a blind person
delivering a newspaper? I bet you cannot guess. The biting
thirty-below-zero cold?
Uh-uh. Trying to keep your eyes open, walking a mile at 5:00
a.m. every morning?
Not it. The hardest thing is watching your father read the
newspaper that you just
delivered. You are separated by those pages; you cannot read the
words on the page
because you are blind. As a young blind person, there were many
things out of my
reach. I did not believe I could hold a job at a restaurant,
give a speech, graduate
from a university, convince a congressman to cosponsor
legislation, and I did not
believe I could downhill ski. But yet I have done all of these
things and many
more. [Applause] Each milestone I conquered involved risk,
physical or emotional.
I was terrified starting out, and in some cases, the first and
second time, I
failed.</p>
<p>Let me tell you about learning to downhill ski. This activity
involves risk, in my case more to other skiers than myself. If
you have not skied
blind, you are matched with a person, hopefully an advanced
skier, to give
instructions like “turn left, turn right, slow down, stop, stop,
STOP!”
I skied the beginner hill for a half-hour, feeling shaky and
nervous. We went up
the ski lift to the intermediate hill. What could possibly go
wrong? My first run,
gravity took over and I slid under the orange fence meant to
keep me out of the
trees. I made my way down with my guide and was willing to give
it a second chance.
On the next run, he told me to turn left. I turned left. I
sensed someone in front
of me and quickly shifted right. I felt two bumps under my skis.
I realized I just
ran over someone’s skis and I hit the ground. I sat there
shocked. I then
heard a familiar voice say, “What was that?” Her ski guide,
Dale,
responded, “That would be your boyfriend.” My now wife, Sherry,
with
her infinite wisdom, said to her guide, “Dale, you have to teach
him how
to ski. His ski guide does not know what he’s doing and he’s
going
to kill somebody.” With Dale’s good instructions, soon I was
skiing
from the top of the mountain. I share the story because I want
to remind us there
is no reward without risk. It is always important to get up when
we crash, and be
careful who we trust to guide us. If we want to find success as
a blind person,
look within our Federation family. Reach out and ask for help.
And be guided down
the mountain by a fellow Federationist.</p>
<p>Each person in this room guides
government affairs as we ski our legislative priorities down the
mountain. We
share what issues are important to blind people. We share
personal stories.
Legislation is crafted based on the collective experience of our
movement, and
our leadership formulates a plan.</p>
<p>You may have guessed that I have traversed
my way from NFB-NEWSLINE to government affairs. I have two major
areas to move:
autonomous vehicles and Social Security.</p>
<p>We will get the Blind Americans
Return to Work Act introduced in Congress. This legislation
affects blind people
who receive Social Security disability benefits. Currently there
is a limit to
the amount of money a blind person can earn each month before
completely losing
their benefits; it is called substantial gainful activity or
SGA. We refer to this
as the earnings cliff because we, as blind people, are harmed by
the earnings
cliff if we fall off. For example, if a blind person receives
$1,000 in disability
benefits, you would lose $12,000 in earning potential. That's
what it looks like
to fall off the earnings cliff.</p>
<p>Blind people are limiting our opportunities
because we don't want to fall off the earnings cliff.</p>
<p>Our movement wants
to make working less risky for blind people. [Applause] We are
asking the government
to eliminate the earnings cliff. [Applause] We propose a
two-for-one phase-out.
For every two dollars of income that a blind person earns after
SGA, you would
give back one dollar of benefits. We would gradually be moved
down the hill to
full employment without the need for benefits. [Applause] When
this legislation
is introduced, we will hear about it through our many channels
of communication.
And we will call on the organized blind movement to contact our
congressmen and
senators to ask them to cosponsor our legislation.</p>
<p>I want to encourage each
of us: take some risks in our lives. Help the National
Federation of the Blind
with our advocacy efforts. We cannot expect the future to change
unless we are
willing to change our beliefs, question what is possible, try
something new, push
harder. We have a strong voice. Our voice matters! I challenge
each of us: change
our future! Push forward our priorities today! Thank you!</p>
<p>----------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Kyle Walls]</p>
<h2 id="save-the-date-2024-washington-seminar">Save
the Date: 2024 Washington Seminar</h2>
<p><strong>by Kyle Walls</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: Kyle Walls does a great deal of work
behind the scenes
that is crucial to advancing the legislative and policy goals
of the National
Federation of the Blind, including writing, research, and
logistical support. Here
is his reminder about our annual midwinter visit to the halls
of Congress:</strong></p>
<p>The 2024 Washington Seminar is only a few months away! Next
year’s event
will be held at the Holiday Inn Washington Capitol (550 C
Street, SW) from Monday,
January 29, through Thursday, February 1, and we can’t wait to
hear the
sound of hundreds of white canes once again confidently striding
through the halls
of Congress. In accordance with longstanding tradition, the
Great Gathering-In,
one of the premier Federation events and the official kickoff
meeting of the
Washington Seminar, will take place on Monday, January 29, from
5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
in the Capitol Ballroom at the hotel. Then all of you will meet
with your members
of Congress over the next three days. We will have more details,
including hotel
reservation information, the legislative priorities, and a full
schedule of events
as the date gets closer. We look forward to seeing all of you in
our nation’s
capital!</p>
<p>----------</p>
<h2 id="monitor-miniatures"><em>Monitor</em>
Miniatures</h2>
<h3 id="news-from-the-federation-family">News from the Federation
Family</h3>
<h4 id="rookie-roundup-report">Rookie Roundup Report</h4>
<p>by Pam
Allen and Tracy Soforenko</p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: Pam Allen, the first
vice president of the National Federation of the Blind and
chair of its board of
directors, organizes the Rookie Roundup, a gathering for
first-time convention
attendees, each year. Tracy Soforenko, president of the
National Federation of
the Blind of Virginia and also a member of the national board,
chairs the Jernigan
Fund Committee, which provides financial assistance to
individuals attending their
first convention. Here is what they have to say about this
year’s
gathering:</strong></p>
<p>Enthusiasm at our first day of convention reached Texas
proportions as we kicked off our Rookie Roundup. As first-time
convention attendees
arrived, we observed everyone singing and clapping to “Deep in
the Heart
of Texas.” Using a rodeo theme, 400 attendees learned tips and
tricks from
a diverse set of Federation leaders from across the country.
Presentations included
welcoming remarks in English and Spanish; a special greeting
from President
Riccobono and First Lady Melissa; and remarks from Norma Crosby,
NFBTX president
and national treasurer, along with several members of our
Jernigan Fund Committee
and Texas affiliate, all designed to help our first-time
attendees make the most
of their convention experience. John Berggren, convention chair
extraordinaire,
reviewed some logistics to help the week run smoothly. We were
delighted to hear
reflections from Dr. and Mrs. Maurer as our evening concluded.
One attendee
commented that they could not wait to put some of the networking
strategies shared
into practice, while another said that they were motivated by
the positivity and
energy in the room, reassuring them they were not alone and were
part of a larger
community. The rookies felt especially welcomed by the many
veterans who greeted
them personally and by the team of Louisiana Center for the
Blind staff and alumni
who helped distribute special ribbons and tote bags as the
evening ended and they
headed out to experience all the convention had to
offer. Throughout the
week, it was exhilarating to hear the cheers from the
first-timers whenever they
were recognized from the stage. Thanks to all our affiliates who
work throughout
the year to find ways to encourage members to attend convention
and to all who
support the Jernigan Fund, which offers convention scholarships.
We are already
planning for 2024!</p>
<h4 id="first-time-conventioneers-share-their-experiences">First-Time
Conventioneers Share Their Experiences:</h4>
<h5 id="a-hot-time-in-houston">A Hot
Time in Houston</h5>
<p><strong>by Maryanne Melley</strong></p>
<p><strong>From
the Editor: Maryanne Melley is president of the National
Federation of the Blind
of Connecticut.</strong></p>
<p>The National Federation of the Blind Convention
in Houston this year was hot and steamy both outside and in.
There were many
pleasurable moments and some disappointments. For the most part
the positives
outweighed the negatives. I send my sincere gratitude to Norma
Crosby and the
Texas affiliate for hosting an amazing event. I can only imagine
the magnitude of
effort it takes to prepare for such a task, and Norma handled it
with such grace
and grit. It was a wonderful surprise to have the return of
local tours at the
convention again. The last time I recall this taking place was
in Atlanta, Georgia,
in 2007. Tours of the Museum of Natural Science, The Houston
Space Center and a
Houston Astros baseball game offered a variety of choices.
Having President
Riccobono throw the first pitch at the ball game to chants of
“NFB!”
from the crowd was incredible. And that’s just the fun stuff.
The vast
array of meetings that we were offered, the opportunity to
attend and learn about
so many products and issues was enough to keep anyone busy
throughout the week.
The speakers during General Sessions were compelling and
informative. It is
difficult to pick favorites for this article and not take up ten
pages so I will
only pick three.</p>
<p>Saturday’s “What’s New with JAWS,
ZoomText, and Fusion” seminar shed new light on many new
keystrokes that
are up and coming that will make using our computers much more
streamlined. But
one of the best new features coming out in the autumn will be
JAWS assisting you
to line yourself up properly for a Zoom meeting. It will be able
to tell you if
your face is on the screen rather than your shirt; also if you
forgot to put the
dirty laundry away, it will let you know that also. Imagine how
professional you
will look in a job interview or in a meeting with your
legislators if they are
seeing your face and a clean background.</p>
<p>Another informative meeting was
the National Association of Guide Dog Users. President Raul
Gallegos held a meeting
with updates on the Air Carrier Access Act for travelers with
guide dogs. We have
been having issues with the airlines which you may recall
hearing President
Riccobono speak about. They require us to fill out a form for
our dogs before they
can fly with us. These forms are inaccessible. Though we would
prefer the airlines
to have the same ADA laws apply to us, for now thanks to NAGDU
there is progress
being made toward these forms becoming obsolete.</p>
<p>Finally, at the “How
to Get Legislation Passed in Your State” session, the
information that was
shared on electronic ballot delivery and return was frustrating
but helpful.
Hearing about the hard work that was done on bills being passed
just to be vetoed
by the state governor was disheartening. However, we are not
deterred. With what
I learned at the meeting plus the language of Resolution
2023-04, I now feel more
confident than ever to approach my legislators in Connecticut to
achieve accessible
independent voting for the blind.</p>
<p>The only disappointing part of this
convention is the same I find at every national convention. It
is the lack of
common courtesy at the elevators. Many people do not allow those
that are on the
elevators to get off before they go charging in. They also
trample over people
who are in front of them waiting in line, even though they have
been told that
they are there. Why does this happen every year? What happens to
“we are
a loving family” when it comes to elevators? Don’t get me wrong,
plenty of people were very kind and helpful with swiping their
card so people
could then press their floor number. Doing both was a challenge.
I just wish people
would remember from year to year how to behave in a more
generous manner. We are
all going to the same places. We all must be patient and wait
our turn. In the
big scheme of things this is a minor matter but an important
one. All in all, let
us all keep deep in our hearts and minds what President
Riccobono said in his
banquet speech: It is up to us, the blind, to change our world
for the better.
Whether it be accessible websites, voting, medical devices, and
more. Nobody is
going to do it for us.</p>
<h5 id="a-first-timers-convention-story">A First-Timer’s
Convention Story</h5>
<p><strong>by Cindy Scott-Huisman</strong></p>
<p>I
hadn’t solo traveled since college days in the 1980s, but I
didn’t
let that keep me from making plans to attend my first National
Convention of the
National Federation of the Blind 2023.</p>
<p>I first attended an NFB meeting in
late 2019, and became Central Arkansas Chapter president in
2020. I joined the
State Board in March of this year.</p>
<p>Once I made my decision to attend
convention, I wasted no time making reservations for the
Houston-Americas Hotel,
and air travel. I was on the same flight with my friends, Cindy
and Kyle Kiper,
departing Little Rock, but I had a different connection in
Dallas, so I was on my
own for that leg of the trip and from the airport to the hotel.
I made friends
along the way.</p>
<p>I have traveled extensively, both during the fifty-one years
of my life before central-eyesight loss and the five-plus years
since becoming
legally blind, almost entirely with family and friends. My
husband of almost
thirty-three years was confident I would be fine, yet somehow it
felt a bit like
when a parent drops their child off at kindergarten on the first
day of school.
Although I had reservations about a few of the details,
everything went perfectly
smoothly!</p>
<p>I experienced so much friendliness every step of the way on
this
adventure.</p>
<p>During the weeks after making reservations and as the time
approached for my departure, I thought through all kinds of
preparations, and
worked towards being organized. I felt at ease throughout the
entire trip. I
uploaded the Hilton Honors app, and was so pleased by its
accessibility.</p>
<p>The
first evening after I arrived a small group went to Xin Chao,
one of [blind chef]
Christine Ha’s restaurants. This was a definite highlight. I had
just
finished watching her win Season 3 of Master Chef the day before
I left town.</p>
<p>There’s so much to do during convention days. With plans
already on my
calendar before and after convention dates, I opted to arrive on
July 3. Lesson
learned! In order to feel like there is enough time to get
through the Exhibit
Hall and everything else, I want to attend the entire convention
in the future.</p>
<p>I volunteered in the Independence Market. This was a fun
opportunity to interact
with fellow attendees. Another memorable activity was going to
the hot tub with
a friend from my chapter. She and I grew closer throughout the
week.</p>
<p>I
truly appreciate the information provided on NFB-NEWSLINE® about
surrounding
restaurants, the room service menu, and the item about the
layout of the hotel
and convention facility.</p>
<p>One evening twelve of us went out to eat together
at a nearby restaurant owned by Pat Green, The Rustic. I made
new friends and got
to reconnect with others.</p>
<p>I loved all the teamwork on display for getting
around. One time I was waiting in the elevator bay in the lobby,
and someone
suggested that we spread out and pay attention to each of the
six elevators, and
when the next one arrived, alert the others. Everyone present
seemed to think this
was a great idea.</p>
<p>For future convention plans, I hope to figure out how to
meet up with people more successfully. There were a couple of
folks I tried to
find, and I never did. I did make it up to the Presidential
Suite one morning,
and I was happy to get to meet President Riccobono. While I was
there, I also got
to have a quick visit with Shawn Callaway. He had spoken to the
Central Arkansas
Chapter a couple of years ago. </p>
<p>I was amazed by the packed-full schedule
of speakers, punctuated by fit breaks and door prize
announcements throughout the
three days of General Sessions. The culmination of the banquet
was remarkable.</p>
<p>My travels home were seamless.</p>
<p>All in all, I am proud of myself for
reaching a bit out of my comfort zone, and learning so much in
the process.</p>
<h4 id="in-memoriam-tom-anderson">In Memoriam: Tom Anderson:</h4>
<p><strong>From
the Editor: Rob Tabor, first vice president of the National
Federation of the
Blind of Kansas, shared the sad news of Tom’s passing to the
affiliate
listserv. Rob said:</strong></p>
<p>We of the Kansas affiliate regret to announce
the loss of a good man and a longtime Federation leader. Tom
Anderson passed on
Tuesday of this week in the late afternoon hours at Advent
Health in Overland
Park, Kansas, where he was hospitalized to treat very severe
COVID symptoms. Many
Federationists will fondly remember Tom's eloquently delivered
invocations at NFB
national conventions over many years. Those involved with the
Communities of Faith
Division will miss his leadership in the devotional services
which take place
every morning at convention. As a Braille and communications
instructor at Colorado
Center for the Blind, Tom touched untold hundreds of lives over
many years before
retiring and returning to Kansas. Back in Kansas, Tom went
immediately to work,
serving on several state advisory committees pertaining to blind
Kansans, while
serving as a member of the Kansas affiliate board of directors.
Above all, Tom
was a wonderful husband to his wife Linda, also a long-time
Federationist. Tom
will definitely be missed by all and forgotten by none.</p>
<p>----------</p>
<h2 id="nfb-pledge">NFB Pledge</h2>
<p>I pledge to participate actively in the efforts
of the National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality,
opportunity, and
security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of
the Federation;
and to abide by its constitution.</p>
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